Duns, Berwickshire is home to an innovative housing project that combines state of the art housing, assistive technology and high quality care for people with physical disabilities.
This new service comes about from the successful partnership working between: Scottish Borders Council Social Work Services, NHS Borders, Communities Scotland, Berwickshire Housing Association and national social and specialist health care charity CIC – Community Integrated Care.
The purpose built houses are home to 11 former residents from Marchmont nursing home. The rooms are spacious and airy and suited to the equipment the tenants may need. To aid independence, every tenant has an individually tailored alarm system should they need to call for assistance. CIC will be providing 24 hour support.
First to move in, is new tenant, John Curran. He said: “When I arrived I felt I’d come to utopia.”
CIC Director of Partnerships, Learning Difficulties and Mental Health Services is pleased that tenants are thrilled with their new home. He said:
“Working in partnership with Scottish Borders, CIC are supporting people to leave Marchmont and move into their new “SMART” homes this week. It is an exciting time for everyone involved and we are all delighted to be part of this innovative project. The residents have participated in the design and development of their new flats from the outset. The use of assistive technology promotes independence and integration into the local community. We look forward to providing 24 hour support and to helping create a successful future for all new residents of Station Court.”
Mary Wilson, Chair, NHS Borders said “In their new, individually designed homes, tenants will have 24 hour nursing care, regular input from nurses and therapists tailored to their needs. They will also have weekly visits by a dedicated GP who will visit the home and also provide on-call cover for emergencies.”
Councillor Raw, Executive Member for Social Work added: It was a real challenge to develop an alternative service in a community setting. It was important to ensure people would feel confident in the support they would receive, whilst trying to develop a housing design that would be accessible for wheelchair users and would fit into the local setting. After a great deal of planning, tenants are telling us that they are pleased with the move.”
Director of Social Work Services, Andrew Lowe concluded: “This development has required vision and courage from all concerned – the tenants, their families and carers, the council, the NHS and our funders. It is something we can all be proud of.”
For further information contact Pauline Gay CIC Communications and Marketing Manager 0151 422 5352.
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